Apparatus for use in examining and turning garments



April 29, 1969 W. H. HALL APPARATUS FOR USE IN BXAMINING AND TURNING GARMENTS Filed Nov. 5, 1967 Sheet p i 29, 1969 w.|-1. HALL 3,441,181

APPARATUS FOR USE IN EXAMINING AND TURNING GARMENTS Filed Nov. 3. 1967 Sheet 2 of 2 United States Patent 3,441,181 APPARATUS FOR USE IN EXAMINING AND TURNING GARMENTS William H. Hall, Sutton-in-Ashfield, England,

Hall Textiles (Mansfield) Limited, Mansfield,

a British company Filed Nov. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 680,427

Claims assignor to England,

Int. Cl. A41h 43/00 US. Cl. 223-43 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to apparatus for use in examining garments to detect any faults therein which may have occurred during manufacture.

An object of this invention is to provide apparatus on which garments such, for example, as pants, tights, long or short sleeve vests or shirts, can be placed and distended to show up any faults in the garment.

A further object is to provide in such improved garment examining apparatus, means enabling an inside out garment to be turned right side out as it is removed from the apparatus after examination.

According to the invention, the garment examining and turning apparatus provided thereby, comprises a rotatable platform; two substantially vertically disposed tubes, open at their upper ends mounted on said platform, so that a garment placed over the tubes so as to be distended thereby, can be examined; means for adjusting the distance between the tubes to cater for garments of varying sizes; and means for producing a flow of air down the tubes at required times, to hold parts of a garment adjacent the ends of the tubes and enable the garment to be turned as it is removed from the apparatus.

Thus, where the garment is for example, a shirt, the body part thereof is drawn over the tunes until the latter engage in the arms of the garment and the platform is rotated to enable the latter to be examined. If the garment is being examined right side out, it is then removed from the apparatus by hand, Alternatively, where the garment was examined whilst it was inside out, a flow of air is then produced down the tubes to draw the relevant parts of the garment into the ends thereof and hold them whilst the body part of the garment is drawn by the examiner up the tubes, causing the garment to be turned right side out as it is removed from the apparatus. The air flow is then stopped, thereby to release the garment.

Although the flow of air down the tubes may be induced by one or more jets of air directed down the tubes from positions below their upper ends, it is preferably produced by a suction pump connected to the tWo tubes in parallel through a foot-treadle-controlled air valve.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into practical effect, one specific embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of the apparatus of the invention, with the means for producing a flow of air down the tubes shown diagrammatically,

3,441,181 Patented Apr. 29, 1969 FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG- URE 1 with the tube covers removed and showing the means for varying the distance between the tubes, and

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the complete apparatus.

Referring primarily to FIGURE 1, the apparatus shown therein comprises a platform 1 which is of circular shape in plan and is supported on a mounting plate 2 through support bars 3. Plate 2 is rotatably mounted on bearings 4 which are themselves carried by a base plate 5, thereby enabling plate 2 and platform 1 to be manually rotated.

Extending vertically through a pair of aligned radial slots 6 in the platform 1 are a pair of tubes 7 for receiving a garment to be examined. The tubes 7 are made of translucent plastics material and have sleeve form transparent or translucent plastic covers 8 thereon, which incorporate fluorescent strip lights 9 used to facilitate examination of a garment carried on the tubes. Power is supplied to the lights through leads (not shown) connected to a pair of brass rings 10 on the underside of plate 2 for contact by a pair of electrically-conductive brushes 1-1 which are adapted to be connected to a supply of electricity,

Each tube 7 is, at its lower end, received, in air tight fashion, in a circular-section bore in a carrier 12 mounted to a slide in a pair of parallel guide slots in guide rails 13 secured to the underside of platform 1 parallel to the slots 6. Thus, the carriers 12, and therefore also the tubes 7, are movable towards and away from one another, the means for effecting this movement being described later in the specification.

Attached to the lower end of each carrier 12 in airtight fashion, is one end of a piece of flexible suction tubing 14, the other end of which is connected to a common conduit 15 through a Y-shaped connecting conduit 16. As is diagrammatically shown in FIGURE 1, the common conduit 15 is connected to a filter box 17 which is, in turn connected to a suction pump 18 for producing a suction in the tubes 7. Pump 18 has a suction silencer 19 in the suction line thereof and an exhaust silencer 20 in its exhaust side. An air valve 21, which may be operated by a foot pedal 22 (see FIGURE 3) is interposed between silencer 19 and pump 18 to enable the suction produced by the latter to be interrupted and applied to the tubes 7 at required times. Thus, the arrangement is such that suction is applied when pedal 22 is depressed.

Referring now to FIGURE 2 of the drawings, the means for moving the carriers 12, and hence the tubes 2, towards and away from one another will now be described. Each carrier 12 has a short link 23 pivotally mounted at one end thereon, whilst the respective opposite ends of the latter are pivoted to the opposite ends of a main link 24. The latter link is fixed at its centre to one end of a pin 25 which extends through a hole in the platform 1 and has an adjusting lever 26 secured to its opposite end. Thus, if lever 26 is moved to turn link 24 in the clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 2, the tubes 7 will be moved towards one another and if it is moved to turn the link 24 anticlockwise, the tubes will move apart. Means, not shown, are provided for locking lever 26 in its adjusted postion to prevent relative movement between the tubes during examination of a garment.

When a garment, say for example a shirt, is to be examined using this apparatus, the body portion thereof is placed over the tubes 7 and drawn down until the latter engage in the arms of the garment, the tubes 7 being set at the required spacing to distend the body portion. The platform is then manually rotated and the whole of the garment is examined, with the aid of the lights 9. If the garment is right side out it is then removed from the tubes by hand. Otherwise, i.e., if the garment is inside out, suction is applied to the tubes 7 by the operator of the apparatus depressing foot pedal 22 to operate valve 21.

This suction draws those parts of the garment across the ends of the tubes into the ends of the latter and holds them therein whilst the body part of the garment is slid up the tubes and turned right side out as it is drawn off the latter. The foot pedal is then released to cut off the suction and allow the parts of the garment within the tubes to be removed therefrom.

As a result, perfect garments placed on the apparatus are turned right side out as they are withdrawn from the apparatus, thus saving time previously taken to turn the garments by hand.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for examining and turning garments, comprising a base, a rotatable platform mounted on the base, two substantially vertically disposed tubes, open at their upper ends, mounted on said platform to rotate therewith, so that a garment placed over the tubes so as to be distended thereby, can be examined; means for adjusting the distance between the tubes for receiving garments of varying sizes; and means for producing a flow of air down the tubes at required times, to hold parts of a garment adjacent the ends of the tubes, thereby permitting the garment to be turned by an operator as it is removed from the apparatus, and conduit means connecting the tubes to the means for producing a flow of air, and bearing means for permitting rotation of the conduit means with the platform relative to the base.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tubes extend through openings in the platform, and including guides on the underside of the platform, two carriers slideable in said guides, each tube being mounted at its lower end in one of said carriers, and wherein means are provided for adjusting the positions of the carriers on the guides to vary the spacing of the tubes and hold them in adjusted positions.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for adjusting the positions of the carriers on the guides, comprise a pair of links, each of which is pivoted at one end to one of the carriers and pivoted at its other end to one end of a main link which is itself pivotally mounted at its centre on the underside of the platform, means being provided for adjusting the angular position of the main link to adjust the spacing of the tubes through the other links.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for producing an air flow down the tubes comprise a suction pump connected to both tubes through a foot-treadlecontrolled air valve.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each tube is provided with a transparent cover incorporating a light, which can be switched on at required times to facilitate examination of a garment.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,990,013 2/1935 Albrecht 22361 2,890,818 6/1959 Harralson 223-43 2,899,116 8/1959 Long et al 22343 3,251,518 5/1966 Lockrow et al. 22343 3,371,828 3/1968 Elsas 223-43 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,395,844 3/1965 France.

RICHARD J. SCANLAN, JR., Primary Examiner. G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner. 

